The protection and preservation of God’s Messenger (Upon whom be blessings and peace) was a clear miracle, and many instances of it are indicated by the clear truth of the verse, “And God will defend you from men.”(5:67) For sure, when God’s Messenger (UWBP) appeared, he was not only challenging one group, or one people, or a few rulers, or one religion; he was rather challenging single-handed all kings and the people of all religions. And yet until he died in perfect ease and happiness and rose to the heavenly court, for twenty-three years he was without guard or protector and was exposed to numerous plots, with his own uncle his greatest enemy and his own tribe and people hostile to him. This shows what a powerful truth the above-mentioned verse expresses and what a firm point of support it was. We shall mention as examples only a few events classed as definite.
Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 349; Musnad (Tahqiq: Ahmad Shakir), iv, 269, no: 2009; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, ii, 228.
Qadi Iyad, al-Shifa’, i, 313; ‘Ali al-Qari, Sharh al-Shifa’, i, 368; Musnad, i, 248; San’ani, al-Musannaf, v, 389; Ibn Kathir, al-Bidaya wa’l-Nihaya, iii, 179-81; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, vii, 27; Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Ma’ad (Tahqiq: Arnavu\dê), iii, 52; al-Tabrizi, Mishkat al-Masabih, no: 5934; Maruzi, Musnad Abu Bakr al-Siddiq, no: 73; Zayla’i, Nasb al-Ra’ya, i, 123; al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, vi, 52-3.